(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to real-time location and positioning systems as well as to real-time communication of location and position-related data among multiple system users. More specifically, this disclosure presents a method and an apparatus for determining common interests among multiple system users by correlating direction vectors and direction fields supplied by the users.
(2) Background of the Invention
Systems for assisting the coordination of activities based on common interests, or on the focus toward a common goal, have long been in existence. These systems and their respective embodiments include a wide variety of techniques and apparatuses, and vary widely in their particular goals. For example, common interest determination has long been performed through the use of explicit statements of interests or by survey. Recently, many interest correlation systems have been developed for common interest determination over a computer network such as the Internet. Common interest determination systems range from those requiring an explicit input of interests, similar to a survey, to those that automatically correlate user activity patterns. In addition to these interest correlation systems, which operate by means such as tracking user activities on a computer system; tracking the items which a person has checked out at a point of purchase such as a store or a library; or analyzing explicit user input such as by survey, there is also a need to track and correlate the physical activity of a group of people. These activities may be tracked in terms of user visual patterns. Historically, the determination of common interests in a three-dimensional space involved the passage of information explicitly through such means as speech, radio communication, and gestures. One example of an activity coordination system based on common interests, or the focus toward a common goal, is that involving a small unit military operation requiring coordination among a dispersed group of individuals, such as a SWAT team, where coordination among a dispersed group of individuals is critical. Unfortunately, historical forms of information exchange suffer from several important drawbacks. First, oral communication may be undesirable in situations where a significant distance separates soldiers, as vocal noise may reveal their location, or simply may not be feasible. Second, radio communication, while suffering, to some degree, from the same noise-related problems as oral communication, introduces the need to consciously utilize a piece of equipment that may detract from the user""s ability to concentrate on the task at hand. Third, in order to interpret and decipher hand signals, the soldiers must be within a close, line of sight proximity of one another. Fourth, with all of these forms of communication there exists an inherent barrier to communication because of the need to orally or symbolically describe an object of interest. Fifth, the need to communicate orally or symbolically also leads to a communication lag time, which may lessen the effectiveness of a team, and may even place them in danger. Similar difficulties exist in situations involving police work, fire fighting, search and rescue, and in military-type gaming situations. In some situations, particularly with regard to firefighting, the problem is often further complicated by the fact that physical equipment may preclude the ability to communicate orally. This problem exists in any situation where oral communication is impossible, such as with the use of gas masks, or even in underwater operations involving the use of breathing equipment such as that used by SCUBA divers.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to overcome these difficulties by providing a means for correlating direction vectors generated based on a physical direction tracked by a device such as a hand-held pointer or mounted pointing device such as a gun sight or a helmet-mounted vision-tracking device. The system correlates these vectors to determine intersections in three-dimensional space, which indicate spatial regions of common interest.
xe2x80x9cDigital Image Processing Techniquesxe2x80x9d, p. 257-287, Ed. By M. P. Ekstrom, Academic Press, Inc. (1984).
It is an object of the present invention to provide mobile user collaborator discovery method and system that tracks and correlates user position and gaze direction information in a physical environment in order to determine common interests. The physical environment is represented by an array divided into a plurality of elements, each representing a particular physical area of the environment. The array may be overlaid with information regarding the specific geography of an area including features and landmarks. The mobile user collaborator discovery method and system includes an activity monitor to track user position and gaze direction information, an entry processor to process the user position and gaze direction information to determine the elements of the array corresponding to physical areas viewed by the user, and to provide the information to a match database, and a matcher to correlate information regarding elements of the array corresponding to physical areas viewed by the user in order to determine portions of the array representing areas of common interest to the users. The method and system tracks areas of long-term and short-term interest to users by tracking the length of time and the number of times an individual has viewed a particular area. The method and system also provides a means for decaying the level of a particular user""s interest for a particular element over time, and eliminating the association between a particular user and a particular element in the array once the level of interest has become sufficiently decayed, thereby clearing the match database of unnecessary entries. Furthermore, the method and system may provide a means for communication between users, such as an electronic display, so that users can determine common interests either among other members of the group or between a particular user and others sharing common interests with the particular user.
More specifically, the method for mobile user collaborator discovery among a plurality of users viewing portions of an area comprises the steps of:
(a) collecting a set of user views for the plurality of users, with the set of user views including a plurality of entries, with each entry including a user identity associated with a particular one of the plurality of users, a location within the area for the particular one of the plurality of users, and a view direction including a portion of the area for the particular one of the plurality of users;
(b) uniquely associating at least one scent score from the location of the particular one of the plurality of users to a portion of the area included in the view direction of the particular one of the plurality of users;
(c) storing the at least one scent score from step (b), along with information regarding the identification of the user with which the at least one scent score that was associated in step (b), in a computer memory; and
(d) determining a set of scent match scores by correlating the scent scores from at least a portion of the plurality of users to provide a set of users sharing points of common viewing as determined by overlaps in the areas for which scent scores were associated in step (b), whereby overlapping user views are utilized to determine a set of users which have viewed portions of the area in common.
The collecting step may be performed by monitoring and recording the real-time locations and view directions of the plurality of users, and the view direction of each of the plurality of users is in the form of a field-of-view cone having a vertex at the location of, and being centered along, the view direction of the particular one of the plurality of users, whereby the field-of view cone simulates the field-of-view of the user with respect to the area along the view direction. The method may also include the step of filtering the user views to eliminate undesirable user views from the set of user views. The scent scores may be represented by scalar values, increased for each particular user in proportion to the number of times a particular portion of the area is included in the direction of view of the particular user. The increase of the scent scores may be such that each particular scent score never exceeds a predetermined maximum value, thereby providing a saturation point so that the scent scores do not continue to increase indefinitely. The users may be provided with the correlated information regarding each other so that they can determine others sharing their interests, and may also be provided with a messaging system so that they may interact.
The scent score map may consist of objects, a two-dimensional array mapped onto a physical area, a three-dimensional array mapped onto a physical area or a hybrid array having objects or a two-dimensional map with portions including a vertical array. The hybrid embodiment is considered preferred, and provides the benefits of a three-dimensional array with minimal computational impact. The vertical array may be developed on the fly for objects or areas that generate a high degree of interest, as measured by scent scores. The increments into which the vertical array is divided may be adapted situationally. Furthermore, objects or portions of the scent score map may be linked based on their similarity, so that the scent scores in the linked portions accumulate together. For example, in an application involving a museum, certain types of objects such as paintings by a particular artist may be linked so that interest generated for one represents a likely interest in another. The objects in the scent array may be modeled such that they act as obstructions to prevent scent scores from accumulating for objects that are out of view to a particular user due to blockage by other objects.
The short-term scent score and long-term scent scores may be associated with each particular user according to the following,
SS=CS
SL=CL
where SS represents the short-term scent score, SL represents the long-term scent score, and CS and CL are scalar values chosen as scent score values assigned for the first access of a particular item by a particular user; wherein the short-term scent score and the long-term scent score are increased according to the following,
SS=SS+(1xe2x88x92SS)*KS and
xe2x80x83SL=SL+(1xe2x88x92SL)*KL, wherein
SS represents the short-term scent score, SL represents the long-term scent score, KS and KL represent incrementing rates chosen such that KS greater than KL; and wherein the decay is performed according to the following,
SS=SS*DS and
SL=SL*DL, wherein
SS represents the short-term scent score, SL represents the long-term scent score, DS and DL represent decay rates chosen such that DS less than DL.
The correlation of the scent scores between a user a, representing a particular one of the plurality of users, and a user b, representing another of the plurality of users, where item p represents a particular area for which a scent score has been associated, may be performed by the following, which takes into account a vertical array as well as a horizontal,                     SS_Match                  ab          hybrid                    =                                    φ            ⁢                          xe2x80x83                        ⁢                                                            ∑                  p                                ⁢                            ⁢                              xe2x80x83                            ⁢                                                                    SS                    ap                                    xc3x97                                      SS                    bp                                                                    Stot                  p                                                                                                                                              ∑                    p                                    ⁢                                ⁢                                  xe2x80x83                                ⁢                                  SS                  ap                  2                                                      xc3x97                                                                                ∑                    p                                    ⁢                                ⁢                                  xe2x80x83                                ⁢                                  SS                  bp                  2                                                                    +                                            (                              1                -                φ                            )                        ⁢                          xe2x80x83                        ⁢                                                            ∑                  v                                ⁢                            ⁢                              xe2x80x83                            ⁢                                                                    SS                    av                                    xc3x97                                      SS                    bv                                                                    Stot                  p                                                                                                                                              ∑                    p                                    ⁢                                ⁢                                  xe2x80x83                                ⁢                                  SS                  av                  2                                                      xc3x97                                                                                ∑                    p                                    ⁢                                ⁢                                  xe2x80x83                                ⁢                                  SS                  bv                  2                                                                          ,          
        ⁢                  LL_Match                  ab          hybrid                    =                                    φ            ⁢                          xe2x80x83                        ⁢                                                            ∑                  p                                ⁢                            ⁢                              xe2x80x83                            ⁢                                                                    SL                    ap                                    xc3x97                                      SL                    bp                                                                    Stot                  p                                                                                                                                              ∑                    p                                    ⁢                                ⁢                                  xe2x80x83                                ⁢                                  SL                  ap                  2                                                      xc3x97                                                                                ∑                    p                                    ⁢                                ⁢                                  xe2x80x83                                ⁢                                  SL                  bp                  2                                                                    +                                            (                              1                -                φ                            )                        ⁢                          xe2x80x83                        ⁢                                                            ∑                  v                                ⁢                            ⁢                              xe2x80x83                            ⁢                                                                    SL                    av                                    xc3x97                                      SL                    bv                                                                    Stot                  p                                                                                                                                              ∑                    p                                    ⁢                                ⁢                                  xe2x80x83                                ⁢                                  SL                  av                  2                                                      xc3x97                                                                                ∑                    p                                    ⁢                                ⁢                                  xe2x80x83                                ⁢                                  SL                  bv                  2                                                                          ,    and                      SL_Match                  ab          hybrid                    =                                    φ            ⁢                          xe2x80x83                        ⁢                                                            ∑                  p                                ⁢                            ⁢                              xe2x80x83                            ⁢                                                                    SS                    ap                                    xc3x97                                      SL                    bp                                                                    Stot                  p                                                                                                                                              ∑                    p                                    ⁢                                ⁢                                  xe2x80x83                                ⁢                                  SS                  ap                  2                                                      xc3x97                                                                                ∑                    p                                    ⁢                                ⁢                                  xe2x80x83                                ⁢                                  SL                  bp                  2                                                                    +                                            (                              1                -                φ                            )                        ⁢                          xe2x80x83                        ⁢                                                            ∑                  v                                ⁢                            ⁢                              xe2x80x83                            ⁢                                                                    SS                    av                                    xc3x97                                      SL                    bv                                                                    Stot                  p                                                                                                                                              ∑                    p                                    ⁢                                ⁢                                  xe2x80x83                                ⁢                                  SS                  av                  2                                                      xc3x97                                                                                ∑                    p                                    ⁢                                ⁢                                  xe2x80x83                                ⁢                                  SL                  bv                  2                                                                          ;  
where:
SS_Matchabhybrid is the match between the short-term scent scores of users a and b;
LL_Matchabhybrid is the match between the long-term scent scores of users a and b;
SL_Matchabhybrid is the match between the short-term scent score of user a and the long-term scent score of user b;
"PHgr" is an inclusion factor ranging from 0 to 1, which allows the importance of the vertical scent array elements to be allocated in a weighted manner;
Stotp and Stotv are the total number of distinct user scent scores that can be found in the particular array element p and in the particular vertical array element v, respectively;
SSap and SSav represent the short-term scent score scalars assigned to user a in the particular portion of the particular array element p and in the particular vertical array element v, respectively;
SLap and SLav represent the long-term scent score scalars assigned to user a in the particular portion of the particular array element p and in the particular vertical array element v, respectively;
SSbp and SSbv represent the short-term scent score scalars assigned to user b in the particular portion of the particular array element p and in the particular vertical array element v, respectively; and
SLbp and SLbv represent the long-term scent score scalars assigned to user b in the particular portion of the particular array element p and in the particular vertical array element v, respectively.
The above correlation may also be adapted to a two-dimensional-only case as follows,                     SS_Match        ab            =                                    xe2x80x83                    ⁢                                    ∑              p                        ⁢                          ⁢                              xe2x80x83                            ⁢                                                                    SS                    ap                                    xc3x97                                      SS                    bp                                                                    Stot                  p                                                                                                                                          ∑                  p                                ⁢                            ⁢                              xe2x80x83                            ⁢                              SS                ap                2                                              ⁢                      xe2x80x83                    ⁢                                                                      ∑                  p                                ⁢                            ⁢                              xe2x80x83                            ⁢                              SS                bp                2                                                          ,          
        ⁢                  SL_Match        ab            =                        φ          ⁢                      xe2x80x83                    ⁢                                                    ∑                p                            ⁢                        ⁢                          xe2x80x83                        ⁢                                                            SS                  ap                                xc3x97                                  SL                  bp                                                            Stot                p                                                                                                                          ∑                  p                                ⁢                            ⁢                              xe2x80x83                            ⁢                              SS                ap                2                                              ⁢                      xe2x80x83                    ⁢                                                                      ∑                  p                                ⁢                            ⁢                              xe2x80x83                            ⁢                              SL                bp                2                                                          ,    and                      LL_Match        ab            =                        φ          ⁢                      xe2x80x83                    ⁢                                                    ∑                p                            ⁢                        ⁢                          xe2x80x83                        ⁢                                                            SL                  ap                                xc3x97                                  SL                  bp                                                            Stot                p                                                                                                                          ∑                  p                                ⁢                            ⁢                              xe2x80x83                            ⁢                              SL                ap                2                                              ⁢                      xe2x80x83                    ⁢                                                                      ∑                  p                                ⁢                            ⁢                              xe2x80x83                            ⁢                              SL                bp                2                                                          ,    where  
SS_Matchab is the match between short-term scent scores of user a and user b;
SL_Matchab is the match between the short-term scent score of user a and the long-term scent score of user b;
LL_Matchab is the match between the long-term scent scores of users a and b;
Stotp is the total number of distinct user scent scores that can be found at area p;
SSap is the short-term scent score assigned to user a at area p; and
SLap is the long-term scent score assigned to user a at area p.
The system for mobile user collaborator discovery of the present invention includes:
(a) at least one activity monitor for collecting a set of user views for the plurality of users, with the set of user views including a plurality of entries, with each entry including a user identity associated with a particular one of the plurality of users, a location within the area for the particular one of the plurality of users, and a view direction including a portion of the area for the particular one of the plurality of users;
(b) an entry processor connected to the activity monitor to receive the set of user views for the plurality of users, said entry processor operative to uniquely associate at least one scent score from the location of the particular one of the plurality of users to a portion of the area included in the view direction of the particular one of the plurality of users;
(c) a match database connected to the entry processor to receive and store the at least one scent score, along with information regarding the identification of the user with which the at least one scent score was associated; and
(d) a matcher connected to the match database to receive the at least one scent score, along with the information regarding the identification of the user with which the at least one scent score was associated, and to correlate the scent scores from at least a portion of the plurality of users to provide a set of users sharing points of common viewing as determined by overlaps in the areas for which the scent scores were associated by the entry processor, whereby overlapping user views are used to determine a set of users which have viewed portions of the area in common.
The activity monitor may monitor and record the real-time locations and view directions of the plurality of users, and the view direction of each of the plurality of users is in the form of a field-of-view cone having a vertex at the location of, and being centered along, the view direction of the particular one of the plurality of users, whereby the field-of view cone simulates the field-of-view of the user with respect to the area along the view direction. The system may also include a means for filtering the user views to eliminate undesirable user views from the set of user views. The scent scores may be represented by scalar values, increased for each particular user in proportion to the number of times a particular portion of the area is included in the direction of view of the particular user. A means may be provided whereby the increase of the scent scores never exceeds a predetermined maximum value, thereby providing a saturation point so that the scent scores do not continue to increase indefinitely. The users may be provided with the correlated information regarding each other so that they can determine others sharing their interests, and may also be provided with a messaging system so that they may interact.
The scent score map may consist of objects, a two-dimensional array mapped onto a physical area, a three-dimensional array mapped onto a physical area or a hybrid array having objects or a two-dimensional map with portions including a vertical array. The hybrid embodiment is considered preferred, and provides the benefits of a three-dimensional array with minimal computational impact. The vertical array may be developed on the fly for objects or areas that generate a high degree of interest, as measured by scent scores. The increments into which the vertical array is divided may be adapted situationally. Furthermore, objects or portions of the scent score map may be linked based on their similarity, so that the scent scores in the linked portions accumulate together. For example, in an application involving a museum, certain types of objects such as paintings by a particular artist may be linked so that interest generated for one represents a likely interest in another. The objects in the scent array may be modeled such that they act as obstructions to prevent scent scores from accumulating for objects that are out of view to a particular user due to blockage by other objects.
The scent scores may serve multiple purposes. For example, a long-term scent score and a short-term scent score may be used such that the short-term scent score and long-term scent score for the particular viewer associated with the particular area are increased for each subsequent time the particular area lies along the view direction of the particular user, such that the short-term scent score increases more rapidly than the long-term scent score. The scent scores may also be decayed over time to reflect changing user interests. The decay may be adjusted to be faster in the case of a short-term scent score and slower in the long-term scent score.
The short-term scent score and long-term scent scores may be associated with each particular user according to the following,
SS=CS
SL=CL
where SS represents the short-term scent score, SL represents the long-term scent score, and CS and CL are scalar values chosen as scent score values assigned for the first access of a particular item by a particular user; wherein the short-term scent score and the long-term scent score are increased according to the following,
SS=SS+(1xe2x88x92SS)*KS and
SL=SL+(1xe2x88x92SL)*KL, wherein
SS represents the short-term scent score, SL represents the long-term scent score, KS and KL represent incrementing rates chosen such that KS greater than KL; and wherein the decay is performed according to the following,
SS=SS*DS and
SL=SL*DL, wherein
SS represents the short-term scent score, SL represents the long-term scent score, DS and DL represent decay rates chosen such that DS less than DL.
The correlation of the scent scores between a user a, representing a particular one of the plurality of users, and a user b, representing another of the plurality of users, where item p represents a particular area for which a scent score has been associated, may be performed by the following, which takes into account a vertical array as well as a horizontal,             SS_Match              ab        hybrid              =                            φ          ⁢                      xe2x80x83                    ⁢                                                    ∑                p                            ⁢                        ⁢                          xe2x80x83                        ⁢                                                            SS                  ap                                xc3x97                                  SS                  bp                                                            Stot                p                                                                                                                          ∑                  p                                ⁢                            ⁢                              xe2x80x83                            ⁢                              SS                ap                2                                              xc3x97                                                                      ∑                  p                                ⁢                            ⁢                              xe2x80x83                            ⁢                              SS                bp                2                                                        +                                    (                          1              -              φ                        )                    ⁢                      xe2x80x83                    ⁢                                                    ∑                v                            ⁢                        ⁢                          xe2x80x83                        ⁢                                                            SS                  av                                xc3x97                                  SS                  bv                                                            Stot                p                                                                                                                          ∑                  p                                ⁢                            ⁢                              xe2x80x83                            ⁢                              SS                av                2                                              xc3x97                                                                      ∑                  p                                ⁢                            ⁢                              xe2x80x83                            ⁢                              SS                bv                2                                                          ,      
    ⁢            LL_Match              ab        hybrid              =                            φ          ⁢                      xe2x80x83                    ⁢                                                    ∑                p                            ⁢                        ⁢                          xe2x80x83                        ⁢                                                            SL                  ap                                xc3x97                                  SL                  bp                                                            Stot                p                                                                                                                          ∑                  p                                ⁢                            ⁢                              xe2x80x83                            ⁢                              SL                ap                2                                              xc3x97                                                                      ∑                  p                                ⁢                            ⁢                              xe2x80x83                            ⁢                              SL                bp                2                                                        +                                    (                          1              -              φ                        )                    ⁢                      xe2x80x83                    ⁢                                                    ∑                v                            ⁢                        ⁢                          xe2x80x83                        ⁢                                                            SL                  av                                xc3x97                                  SL                  bv                                                            Stot                p                                                                                                                          ∑                  p                                ⁢                            ⁢                              xe2x80x83                            ⁢                              SL                av                2                                              xc3x97                                                                      ∑                  p                                ⁢                            ⁢                              xe2x80x83                            ⁢                              SL                bv                2                                                          ,      and    ;  
where:
SS_Matchabhybrid is the match between the short-term scent scores of users a and b;
LL_Matchabhybrid is the match between the long-term scent scores of users a and b;
SL_Matchabhybrid is the match between the short-term scent score of user a and the long-term scent score of user b;
"PHgr" is an inclusion factor ranging from 0 to 1, which allows the importance of the vertical scent array elements to be allocated in a weighted manner;
Stotp and Stotv are the total number of distinct user scent scores that can be found in the particular array element p and in the particular vertical array element v, respectively;
SSap and SSav represent the short-term scent score scalars assigned to user a in the particular portion of the particular array element p and in the particular vertical array element v, respectively;
SLap and SLav represent the long-term scent score scalars assigned to user a in the particular portion of the particular array element p and in the particular vertical array element v, respectively;
SSbp and SSbv represent the short-term scent score scalars assigned to user b in the particular portion of the particular array element p and in the particular vertical array element v, respectively, and
SLbp and SLbv represent the long-term scent score scalars assigned to user b in the particular portion of the particular array element p and in the particular vertical array element v, respectively.
The above correlation may also be adapted to a two-dimensional-only case as follows,                     SS_Match        ab            =                                    xe2x80x83                    ⁢                                    ∑              p                        ⁢                          ⁢                              xe2x80x83                            ⁢                                                                    SS                    ap                                    xc3x97                                      SS                    bp                                                                    Stot                  p                                                                                                                                          ∑                  p                                ⁢                            ⁢                              xe2x80x83                            ⁢                              SS                ap                2                                              ⁢                      xe2x80x83                    ⁢                                                                      ∑                  p                                ⁢                            ⁢                              xe2x80x83                            ⁢                              SS                bp                2                                                          ,          
        ⁢                  SL_Match        ab            =                        φ          ⁢                      xe2x80x83                    ⁢                                                    ∑                p                            ⁢                        ⁢                          xe2x80x83                        ⁢                                                            SS                  ap                                xc3x97                                  SL                  bp                                                            Stot                p                                                                                                                          ∑                  p                                ⁢                            ⁢                              xe2x80x83                            ⁢                              SS                ap                2                                              ⁢                      xe2x80x83                    ⁢                                                                      ∑                  p                                ⁢                            ⁢                              xe2x80x83                            ⁢                              SL                bp                2                                                          ,    and                      LL_Match        ab            =                        φ          ⁢                      xe2x80x83                    ⁢                                                    ∑                p                            ⁢                        ⁢                          xe2x80x83                        ⁢                                                            SL                  ap                                xc3x97                                  SL                  bp                                                            Stot                p                                                                                                                          ∑                  p                                ⁢                            ⁢                              xe2x80x83                            ⁢                              SL                ap                2                                              ⁢                      xe2x80x83                    ⁢                                                                      ∑                  p                                ⁢                            ⁢                              xe2x80x83                            ⁢                              SL                bp                2                                                          ,    where  
SS_Matchab is the match between short-term scent scores of user a and user b;
SL_Matchab is the match between the short-term scent score of user a and the long-term scent score of user b;
LL_Matchab is the match between the long-term scent scores of users a and b;
Stotp is the total number of distinct user scent scores that can be found at area p;
SSap is the short-term scent score assigned to user a at area p; and
SLap is the long-term scent score assigned to user a at area p.
These features as well as several specific embodiments of the present invention are described in the accompanying drawings and in the detailed description. The present invention is adaptable to many specific embodiments, and accordingly, the embodiments described herein are intended only as non-limiting examples, which provide the best mode contemplated by the inventors. Thus, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.